The Fallen Stars
by LittleRedLily
Summary: Lily and the Marauders have left the school that was once their oyster, and enter the real world which has been more affected by the First Wizarding War than they initially thought. The question is - who will make it and who will fall?
1. A Day of Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters or the things that go on in this story. All credit goes to the one and only J.K. Rowling.

**A/N: This is the sequel to _The Stars Were Rearranged._ There may be a few references to it, but it shouldn't really confuse. Therefore, you don't need to have read TSWR to understand TFS.  
Also, if you've read any of my previous fanfics, you will know I suck at fanfiction. But hey.**

_So their seventh-year at Hogwarts is finally over. Now they're off to explore the world and find war, pain, suffering, love, comfort and companionship. This story follows them through it all and as close to the real thing as I can get it. It's not a happy story and we all know how it's going to end. If you read this story, you can't complain about how it's all gloom and doom, because that basically was the First Wizarding War; horror, terror, lies, deceit, confusion, hurt, betrayal and death. You can't ask me to brighten things up, because back then there were, after all, precious few reasons to smile. Here we go …_

* * *

- Chapter One -

~ A Day of Surprises ~

(_Tuesday 8th August, 1978)_

Stupid sweltering heat. Even in Britain, it wasn't normally this hot. The digital thermometer on the wall behind the till had gone into triple figures and all anyone felt like doing was lazing around, tanning, bathing – anything but working.

It wasn't like this for Lily Evans, though.

She was stuck inside a tiny supermarket working a few too many hours. The good thing about this was the aisle of frozen food – it was cool here. She felt there was little chance of her getting a heat stroke as she changed the price of some fish fingers. It was quite dead in the shop. Everyone was probably at the beach; it was the right day for beaching. At least she wasn't working outside in the sweltering heat.

'Lily, can you take over the till?' said the manager with an afro of curly dark hair.

'Sure, Bob,' said Lily kindly.

She turned around, feeling her long, thick, dark red hair sway behind her back. Her clear, grass-green eyes were on the fan behind the till. She was going to survive this heat wave, she was sure of it. When she was finally behind the till, she was scanning products for a customer and charging them.

'Thank you,' said Lily brightly when the customer walked away with a large smile on her face.

The next customer was a tall and thin hazel-eyed man with jet-black hair that stuck up at different angles. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and was wearing a smirk.

'Whatever can I do for you?' said Lily, smirking as well as he approached her.

'I'm here to buy some time with the apple of my eye,' he said, before giving her a kiss on her lips. He pulled away too soon.

'I wasn't done,' Lily protested.

'Maybe if you weren't working in this Muggle store,' said James, 'you would get more of all of _this_.' He indicated to himself. When she sighed, he continued, 'I don't understand why you have to do this, Lil. You hate it. You shouldn't do something you hate so passionately. Life is far too short for those kinds of things.' He rubbed her arms soothingly.

'James, you don't get it,' she groaned. 'Now that Dad's … well, dead, I _have_ to work and a supermarket job's the best I can get, having not gone to a Muggle school and gotten the right qualifications. It was either this or flipping burgers – and I don't particularly like the idea of smelling like _that _all the time. I don't come from money like you do, James, I _have_ to work and I have bills and stuff to pay at home.'

'What about Petunia?' James asked.

'She hates me,' said Lily lowly, 'really hates me. All the money she gets from her job as a typist goes straight to her bank account, because she hates me. She wouldn't let me be a bridesmaid at her wedding purely because she was scared of me overshadowing her! You remember how much that upset me. And you've had the pleasure of meeting her _and_ her husband.'

James shivered as he remembered the terrible night of their first meeting.

_It was Petunia's idea to have a formal dinner at a restaurant. Vernon and James were to finally meet. Vernon arrived in an extremely classy car with Petunia at his arm, obviously out to impress James. When they had taken their seats in the restaurant, Vernon droned on and on about how flashy his car was._

'_Do you drive a car, boy?' Vernon barked as he played around with his food._

'_No,' said James politely. 'I have my own racing broom – it's a pretty awesome one, as well. It goes faster than your car and the steering's a lot easier, too.'_

_Lily and Petunia exchanged nervous glances._

'_A broom?' Vernon repeated. 'Do you take me for an idiot?'_

'_Uh … no, sir,' said James blankly, not understanding what he had said wrong._

_Lily squeezed his hand under the table._

'_So you ride a broom?' said Vernon. 'Do you not have enough money to buy a car? Are you unemployed?_

_Anger flashed on James's face. How dare he make that suggestion? Lily squeezed his hand against and his calm composure was restored._

'_My parents have lots of money, you see,' James explained, working hard to keep his temper under control. 'Money in our world's different to here. We have Galleons and Sickles and Knuts; gold coins, silver coins and bronze coins. I, personally, think it's better than paper, but that's just me.'_

_Vernon merely sneered at him, having nothing to say, but when James looked away, Lily saw Petunia and Vernon exchange confused looks, Vernon's tinted with anger._

_The rest of the night continued with the men going on at each other about all the good they had. It only ended after an argument broke out between James and Vernon. Petunia and Vernon stormed out of the restaurant in a fit of rage. Lily, on the other hand, burst into tears, and the men went separate ways; James promised Lily he would make things up with Vernon and Vernon told Petunia he would stay away from him._

'I still can't believe she has an office job in London,' Lily said, bringing James back down to earth, 'and I'm stuck here in Cokeworth.'

'_Why_ don't you accept some money from me?' said James exasperatedly, holding her delicate hands. 'The boys don't mind living off my income. We can change Galleons into, what, pounds?'

'Yeah,' said Lily softly, touched that he remembered the currency although she only mentioned it once. She knew he could remember anything as long as she was the one saying it. 'My mother used to tell me you'd never find a problem that doesn't have a solution. I thought the solution to this would be work. I'd get money and pay off the bills. Petunia and Vernon would never give me any money.'

'Cute,' said James. 'Quite the charmer your sister is. It's sweet you're doing all of this, but haven't you thought that maybe the solution is your amazingly perfect boyfriend and his money?'

Lily didn't look convinced.

'Lils,' James sighed, 'whether you like it or not, you're a huge part of my life. What's mine is yours, if it's not already. Your hurt, my hurt; your bills, my bills; my money, your money. If I were in your position and you were in mine, you would be the same as I am now. Come on. What would your parents want?'

'I wouldn't know,' said Lily lowly. 'They're both six feet under ground.'

'Lils,' James sighed again.

She wasn't up for an argument anymore. She pressed her lips against his briefly.

'Thanks, James,' she whispered. 'What I ever did to end up with someone as amazing as you, I will _never_ understand. But don't feel like I'm just using you for money or anything, because, really, you know that I love you and –'

She was babbling now. James cut her off with a long, deep kiss. It was irritating how the counter was in the way. There was always something.

'I'm supposed to be working,' she muttered against his lips.

'There's no one here,' he said, grinning cheekily, 'but as you please.' He kept his distance from her, much to her displeasure, ironically.

A whistle came from nearby. It could only be Sirius Black. Sure enough, when the two turned their heads, they saw their handsome, grey-eyed friend with medium-length black hair that only made him look more gorgeous. He was accompanied by a less handsome but just as cute man. He was tall and had sandy hair. He smiled shyly at them, having walked in on an intimate scene. Next to Remus Lupin was, of course, Peter Pettigrew, a small and fat boy with watery blue eyes, mousey brown hair and a keen smile.

'You just had to comment on the lack of people,' said Lily dryly, but quietly to James.

'Lily Flower getting bored here?' said Sirius loudly, bouncing over to them.

'Not for much longer,' said Lily, 'now that the rest of the Marauders are here.'

'She knows,' grinned Sirius. 'Ah, just like a little Marauderette.'

'Marauderette?' Lily repeated sceptically. 'No thanks, I much prefer my name.'

'You can be my Marauder,' said James cheekily, before planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

'Ew!' Sirius shouted. 'That's _gross_! Get that image out of your head, Sirius, _get it out of your head_.'

Lily spotted Bob eyeing all of them nearby and said, 'I don't know what he's talking about. He must have forgotten to take his meds this morning … nothing new … move along, Bob.'

'Who _are_ these people?' he asked in amazement, which confused Lily so much that all she could do was stare at him.

This wasn't the first time the Marauders visited her at work; the time before, Peter managed to draw attention to them all by knocking over a pyramid of tin cans. Apologising hastily, he pulled out his wand and was going to undo what he had done with Muggles in sight until Lily shouted, 'NO!' and ran over to fix things without her wand.

'I am the lovely James Potter,' said James, 'boyfriend of the even lovelier Lily Evans. And these psychopaths are my best buds, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.'

'Right …' said Bob. 'Wait, you're in a relationship?' he asked Lily.

'Er … yeah,' said Lily sheepishly.

'You've been with someone for the short time I've known you and you never thought to tell me?'

'Er … I didn't think my relationship status mattered,' Lily stammered, puzzled. 'I mean, it doesn't interfere with my work … normally.'

'If I knew you already had someone,' snapped Bob, 'I wouldn't have paid you so many compliments, or indeed given you the job.'

'Say what?' said Lily. 'Is there a problem with having an employee who's in a relationship?'

'Flower, the man's obviously jealous,' said Sirius, laughing. Of course he would find every situation absolutely hilarious.

'Jealous?' Bob barked. 'Impertinence. Evans, you're _fired_. I want you out of here in no more than five minutes.'

He stomped off grumpily.

'Wait, Bob, can't I –?' Lily called, but James held onto her hand.

'Let it go, Lil,' he said softly.

'Padfoot,' she wailed. 'I really needed that job! I can't believe I got fired in the first week!'

Sirius sighed exhaustedly. 'And _I_ can't believe I'm saying this, but … you can do so much better than this dump. You're a talented witch. You didn't go through seven years at Hogwarts with us irritating you all the way for nothing. You could work _anywhere_ in the Wizarding world and get paid more – and your talents would be put to good use. Plus, your ex-manager's such a sleaze.'

'Yeah, Lily,' said Remus. 'Sirius's right. You used to always tell me everything happens for a reason, and I can think up plenty of reasons for this situation.'

'Sirius, Remus …' said Lily happily, extremely touched. 'Thanks. I find it hard to believe I spent most of my life avoiding you guys, minus Remus.'

James let out a little laugh. 'Come on,' he said, taking her hand and pulling her away lightly. 'We've got to go to Gringotts and change some Galleons to pounds.'

'What's a pound?' Peter asked curiously.

Lily and James exchanged looks for a moment before Lily quickly said, 'Don't worry, Pete.'

They had passed the automatic doors when Sirius suddenly slapped his forehead and said, 'I just remembered something! Wormy, come with me!'

Peter wasn't given an option; Sirius dragged him back into the shop.

'I don't really think they're up to any good …' she said worriedly, meaning to go back in. But James put an arm around her waist and prevented her from doing so.

'Forget it,' said Remus. 'Bobby boy has to deal with them now. Let's go.'

'But, Remus, they can get in trouble with the police,' said Lily. She then had a quick think – they were the _Marauders, _the biggest pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen; if they couldn't get caught by the vast majority of the staff at Hogwarts, the Muggles had no chance of catching them. 'Fine,' she said eventually, smiling.

The three had to sneak into a place where they would be spied on before Apparating to Diagon Alley in London. Apparition was similar to what Muggles thought of as teleporting. It was quite packed, but not enough so they couldn't get by comfortably. Lily felt a slight thrill when Gringotts came into view; James squeezed her hand, knowing she would be feeling excited. She hadn't been to Diagon Alley much recently, and any connection with the Wizarding world pleased her.

Gringotts was a snowy-white building which towered above all the shops near it. It was a wizarding bank run by goblins, founded by Gringott, a powerful goblin. James, Lily and Remus passed through a bronze set of doors and then a silver set of doors before entering the lobby. James managed to get a goblin to kindly take them down to his vault by the magical carts which went at breakneck speed.

'Er, I think I'll pass,' said Remus quietly as Lily and James and the goblin got into the cart.

'Do you want one of us to stay with you?' Lily asked him considerately.

'It's okay, thanks,' he said quickly. 'I know you've never been down there before … and, trust me, when you go once, you won't want to go again.'

The goblin started the cart, while James assured Lily the ride was fun. And he was right. Lily didn't mind it. She found it quite fascinating, and she enjoyed the wind whipping through her hair. She swore she saw a dragon at one point, and the eeriness of the dark, torch-lit passageways thrilled her. James laughed at her facial expressions. He'd been going down the same passageway for years and was quite bored of it.

'Don't laugh,' said Lily. 'I've never been here before. I've never needed to, of course, but I always wondered …'

'You could've just asked me,' said James. 'I would've taken you on a ride any day.' He winked at her, making her blush and slap his arm.

'Vault six-eight-seven,' said the goblin. He had an extremely nasally voice, which made Lily thankful of the fact that he didn't talk much.

Lily and James got out of the cart along with the goblin. James handed a small golden key to the goblin who took it and jammed it inside a keyhole. He turned it and opened the vault to reveal countless piles of golden Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts. Lily had to quickly close her mouth, knowing that James would be watching her expression. He stepped in the vault and took fistfuls of Galleons into his moneybags.

'How much is a Galleon in pounds?' he asked the goblin.

'Five pounds,' he replied.

James looked questioningly at Lily.

'Oh, that's brilliant,' she said quickly. 'Thanks.'

The goblin took the two back up to the lobby where they found Sirius and Peter waiting with Remus. They were all muttering seriously.

'I'll just be a second, love,' said James, heading to his friends and leaving Lily to convert a large amount of Galleons into pounds on her own.

She couldn't help but seem worried about what they were talking about. Had someone else died? Had Lord Voldemort, the greatest Dark wizard of all time, and his evil Death Eaters gotten to someone else? This was the one thing Lily loathed about the Wizarding world at the moment – they were in the middle of a Wizarding War, and things were going terribly. She pushed the thought right out of her head when she saw Sirius grin a little impishly. Sirius would never grin like that if someone had just died. He may be Sirius, but he knew how to respect people and he had a great heart.

Her curiosity got the better of her. Collecting her Muggle money, she approached the group and noticed how they hushed up rapidly upon her joining them.

'What?' she asked. 'What did I do?'

'Why do you always assume it's about you?' Sirius questioned. 'Maybe we were just finishing our conversation.'

'Or maybe you were talking about me,' said Lily, 'trying to keep something from me. But it doesn't matter.'

Peter relaxed, but then straightened up again when Lily said, 'I'll get it out of you eventually.'

'Anyone fancy some ice cream?' Remus asked lightly.

He was a genius, James thought. Ice cream could take Lily's mind off pretty much everything.

'Ice cream methinks,' said James.

'To Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour!' said Sirius loudly, pointing to the doors and leading them.

'Oh, boy,' said Lily, falling back with James.

He put an arm around her waist and held her close. 'Do you have any plans tonight?'

'I was actually thinking about finding somewhere else to work,' said Lily warmly, 'you know, given that _you guys got me fired._'

'That can wait,' he said lightly. 'Do you want to hang out at my place later then? Mum can make those delicious brownies you so adore.'

'Your mother's brownies have won me over. What time?'

'I'll pick you up at about ten to eight,' said James.

'You don't need to pick me up, ' said Lily. 'I know where you live. I can easily Apparate by myself.'

James's face instantly looked serious, almost pained. 'Lily, you know how I feel about you being alone and going anywhere alone. Can we not do this now?'

Lily huffed, but said no more about the matter. There were precious reasons to smile these days and ice cream with best friends was one of them. They sat around a table under an umbrella outside the ice cream parlour. They were safe from the sun under the umbrella.

'What did you do, anyway?' Lily asked suddenly. She was looking at Peter and Sirius, who exchanged nervous glances.

'Us? Do something?' Peter squeaked.

'Never,' said Sirius. 'Whatever are you talking about, woman?'

'You know,' said Lily slowly, 'when we left the shop and you guys went back in to do something …'

Peter and Sirius relaxed almost instantly.

'Oh, _that_,' Peter laughed.

'What else could I have been talking about?' Lily asked suspiciously, looking from one to the other with narrowed eyes.

'We left him a few dungbombs,' said Sirius, 'and some other unmentionable surprises.'

'I'd better just hide my face from the Muggle world,' said Lily, finishing her ice cream. 'I can change my name and hair and eye colour. Yes. I can have brown hair and matching eyes. My name can be … er, Melanie Walker.'

James and Sirius burst out laughing, the latter louder than the former.

'Melanie Walker?' Sirius repeated. 'You don't look like a Melanie.'

'That's cute, love,' said James, 'but I _much_ prefer the redheaded, green-eyed Lily Evans I fell in love with, although I have to say I wanna do something about the "Evans".'

Lily blushed furiously and grinned, while Sirius mimicked throwing back up his ice cream. But Lily and James barely noticed; the two were so caught up in each other. She was saddened when it was time to say bye. The war had this effect on her. She didn't like not knowing if she was going to see anyone again.

The war had been going on for eight years or so, but had now gotten worse than ever before. It all began with a Dark wizard, who named himself Lord Voldemort. He was mostly known as You-Know-Who and He Who Must Not Be Named. Only people who were brave enough would call him by his name. He had this ring of close followers, as well – they called themselves the Death Eaters. Dark times were ahead.

Half-past seven that evening found Lily finishing the washing up. She sighed loudly while she was drying the last dish. Were chores this boring for her mother? Just then, the doorbell rang. Great. Just what Lily needed – Muggle company. She bounced to the door and opened it.

'James?' said Lily, puzzled.

'The one and only,' he said, entering her house. 'I'm still not sure if I'm supposed to Apparate _in_ the house or outside it.'

'How come you're so early?' Lily asked, walking James to the kitchen and leaning against the counter.

'I just fancied a little time with my favourite girl,' said James, kissing her neck. 'Aren't you gonna get ready then?'

'Maybe if you'd get off me,' said Lily.

James left her alone sharpish.

'Hey, come back,' she said sadly.

'Not until you get ready,' said James. 'Lose the dishrag at least.'

'I'll be a sec,' she grinned, throwing the dishrag in his face and leaving the kitchen.

'Wear a pretty dress or something,' James called after her. 'I want to do something really special.'

Lily was wondering wildly about what that something special could be as she opened her wardrobe and looked at all of her dresses. She ended up in a scarlet, knee-length, sleeveless dress which went wonderfully with her hair. The dress had once belonged to Petunia until their mother gave it to Lily. Once she had worn it, Petunia claimed she didn't want it back. She thought it was a bit dressy and planned on changing again until a knock at her door made her jump.

'Are you done, Lil?' said James through the door. 'You've been ages. It's nearly eight.'

Lily opened her door and meant to tell him she wanted to change again, but stopped upon looking at his amazed expression.

'And there was me thinking you just couldn't get any more beautiful,' said James.

'I feel stupidly overdressed,' she said shyly. But then she noticed James looked quite smart in a shirt and dark trousers.

'You look _fine_,' James assured her.

'I need to put some make up on –' said Lily, turning around, but James caught her arm.

'No, you do not,' he said firmly. 'You look beautiful just the way you are. I was kidding, anyway. We're not going anywhere special. I just like seeing you in pretty dresses.' He winked at her, but she was still slightly mad. 'Ah, come on,' said James, 'you can't be mad at me. Come on, I'll show you why.'

He took her hand cautiously and the two Apparated out of Lily's house and were in front of James's place in Godric's Hollow in no time. Apparition gave Lily a funny feeling, as if she was become disjointed with parts of her own body. Lily couldn't see anything through the windows, although the sun was still up. She did like James's cottage, though. There was a lot of ivy outside of it and many flowers in the garden. Everything about this cottage screamed warmth.

'Yeah,' said Lily sarcastically, 'I'm not mad at you anymore.'

'Give me a chance,' he said softly, not for the first time ever. He stared deeply into her eyes until she nodded. He then took her hand and entered the house.

An explosion seemed to have taken place. There was a loud shout of 'SURPRISE!' followed by a series of bangs of varying dynamics. Normally, if Lily heard shouts and bangs, she would have whipped her wand out, but she realised she didn't have it on her. When she focused, she realised the room was filled with friends, who were practically like family. So _that_ was what the Marauders were talking about before. Lily didn't know what to do. She stood their grinning, her face absolutely glowing with happiness.

'I can't believe you guys,' she said eventually. She scanned the faces of everyone in the room.

There was, of course, James, Peter, Remus and Sirius. Then there was Mrs Potter, a little old lady with a lot of love and affection. She looked happier than Lily had ever seen her, especially given that her husband had died merely a year ago, leaving them all grief-stricken. Near Mrs Potter was the round-faced, dark-haired Alice, an old school mate. Her dark eyes sparkled more than they usually did. Standing close to Alice was none other than Frank Longbottom, tall and dark-haired. Seeing Alice and Frank together made Lily even happier than before, even though she didn't know them well as they were a few years above her in Hogwarts.

There were more faces of people who had left Hogwarts before she did. There was Gideon and Fabian Prewett, recognisable by their vivid ginger hair; Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes, fellow Gryffindors and a few others.

'Congratulations, Lily!' Marlene said loudly from across the room, 'to you _and_ James! I can't believe how many months it's been for the two of you!'

'Yeah!' said Dorcas. 'I swear in Hogwarts you wouldn't do so much as date the boy, Lil! I remember you saying on many occasions that you'd rather have the Giant Squid. And now just like at the two of you. I can't imagine a more perfect couple. Perseverance, eh, Potter?'

Many burst out laughing. James mirrored Lily's grin of embarrassment.

Everyone began re-immersing themselves in conversation as Sirius bounced forwards.

'Seriously?' said Lily quietly, although she looked astounded. 'Despite _everything_ that's going on, you all felt the need to throw a party to mark a year since the day James and I first got together? You disturbed all of these poor people?'

'Hey,' said Sirius, 'don't deny us this opportunity to party. We kept it small, anyway. Come on, you gotta love us.' He opened his arms wide.

Lily grinned and fell right into them. 'Yes. I love you guys. Thank you _so_ much.'

James said, 'I want you to have the most amazing life ever, as untouched by the war as possible.'

Barely hours later – hours of eating, drinking, laughing and having fun – a knock sounded at the door. No one was to know that this was going to shatter James's dream of Lily having an untouched-by-war life.

'Who could that be?' Peter wondered aloud.

'Most people just come right in,' Sirius muttered.

James left Lily in order to open the door, not expecting the awkward moment that was to follow. He found himself face to face with his old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, a silver-haired, long-bearded man of wisdom.

'James,' said the old man. His expression was quite sombre.

'Professor Dumbledore, sir!' James exclaimed in slight shock. 'What a, er, surprise. Really, I don't remember the last time I saw a teacher out of school …'

'Am I gate-crashing?' he asked, peering inside.

'No, not at all, sir,' said James quickly; Sirius responded with a resentful 'Hm.'

James invited him in; the others looked around in curiosity.

'Er, I'm gonna have to break this party up a little early,' said James loudly to boos.

'I need Mr Lupin, Mr Black, Miss Evans and Mr Pettigrew … however, Miss Meadowes, Miss McKinnon and Gideon and Fabian Prewett may stay,' said Dumbledore. 'Terribly sorry.'

Those who didn't have their names called out looked offended. Most of them Apparated on the spot. Mrs Potter informed them that she was going to check up on the brownies.

'What's wrong, Professor Dumbledore?' Remus asked.

'I'm here to inform you about the Order of the Phoenix,' said Dumbledore.


	2. Promises

Recap:

'_What's wrong, Professor Dumbledore?' Remus asked._

'_I'm here to inform you about the Order of the Phoenix,' said Dumbledore._

* * *

- Chapter Two -

~ Promises ~

'So you formed this group "The Order of the Phoenix" eight years ago when Voldemort –' many people flinched, but James ignored them, '– became bigger. And you think us lot – as in Sirius, Lily, Remus and Peter – are Order material, along with Dorcas, Marlene, Gideon and Fabian?'

Marlene looked flattered; she blushed and flicked back her honey-blonde hair.

'Yes, Mr Potter,' said Dumbledore gently.

'But, sir, we're only eighteen,' said Lily, sounding confused.

'I'm nineteen next month,' said Sirius quickly.

'I have seen you all perform magic most fully-grown wizards cannot perform,' he said seriously. 'Just a few months ago, I saw with my own eyes the way you and James fought the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade and eventually defied Voldemort. Many wizards do not live to tell the tale. And I do not believe age matters. You do, of course, have the right to decline my invitation to assist us in thwarting the most evil Dark wizard anyone has ever seen.'

'When you put it that way …' said Lily.

'Lily, lighten up,' said Remus warmly, his face glowing with pride, pride anyone had rarely seen. 'I'm honoured you chose to recruit us, Professor Dumbledore sir.'

'Fabian and I approve,' said Gideon, to Remus, while clapping his brother's hand.

'No way I could say no,' said Sirius; James nodded in agreement.

The two looked over at Peter who hurriedly squeaked his approval, although he looked extremely nervous.

'I'd love to help you all fight the forces of evil,' said Peter.

'Lily?' Marlene said gently.

Everyone turned to look at Lily. James gave her hand a little squeeze. She nodded, saying, 'I'm surprised I had to think that over even for a second. Of course I want to help in whatever way I can.'

'Brilliant,' said Dumbledore, cracking a familiarly convivial smile. 'In the Order, we communicate via Patronuses more often than owls, mostly in cases of emergency. I assume you all can cast a Patronus charm.'

'Pft,' said Sirius. 'Patronuses are so first-year.'

Although his statement was far from true, there was a general murmur of agreement from many.

'The last thing is that the meetings we may have,' said Dumbledore seriously, staring around at all of them, 'are strictly top secret, similar to this society. Any information exchanged cannot be shared with the outside world unless instructed otherwise. Is that clear?'

Everyone nodded quickly. No one liked Dumbledore when he was this solemn.

'Excellent,' he said, smiling again. 'I had best be off and inform other Order members. Thank you all very much for your time.'

'Any time,' said Sirius.

Dumbledore left them then. Babble instantly broke out. Those who had been in the Order for a while were talking about how 'cool' and 'exciting' they thought it was. But nothing was as cool or exciting as Mrs Potter when she re-entered the living room with her brownies. They all crowded around the poor woman until she had been scavenged of all her brownies.

Hours later, only James, Lily, Remus and Sirius were left. The others had family to get to. When Remus told Peter to stay a little longer, he muttered something about having work to do, which Sirius thought was odd. ('He's Peter; he doesn't have a _life_, let alone work,' he joked.)

Lily brought up the topic of the Order again.

'I can't believe we're actually going to take on Voldemort!' she said. 'He's done enough damage to this world, already. It's about time someone took some action. Leave it to Dumbledore.'

'Hard-core man,' said Sirius admiringly.

'About that,' said James, turning uncomfortably to Lily, 'I know I don't _own_ you or anything and I know you're an exceptionally talented and extremely capable witch, but –'

'– you don't want me playing any part of this war in case I get hurt,' Lily finished off for him.

'Basically,' he said lamely.

'James,' she sighed, 'if you think I'm "talented" and "capable" then why can't you trust that I can take care of myself? I'll be perfectly fine.'

'I meant the things I said,' he said painfully, 'I just don't want to see you hurt. Ever. I used to worry about you when you were in the castle but out of my sight in Hogwarts; the only thing that's changed since then is the setting. Please, Lil.'

She groaned. 'Remus, Sirius, tell him I'll be fine!'

The two didn't say anything. They merely looked around the room as if they had never seen it before.

'Moony, Padfoot,' she snapped.

'We heard you first time,' said Sirius reluctantly. 'But we're on James's side. Lily, he only cares for you.'

'Don't you think this is a little ridiculous?!' said Lily, turning back to James. 'Sure you and Sirius can go around on that stupid flying motorbike of his and get caught by Muggle policemen and Death Eaters before you even start seventh-year, but _I _can't participate in a war now that I'm fully qualified. How does that make any sense? Need I remind you that we – _together_ – have defied Voldemort before?'

Remus closed his eyes and unwillingly said, 'Lily, you're right. I _do_ agree with you. But this is James you're arguing with.'

'That was last year, anyway,' said James shortly. 'We were stupid, reckless and arrogant –'

'The only thing that's changed since then is the setting,' Lily repeated quietly.

'Lily, please!'

'James, this isn't _fair_,' she said, jumping up. 'I bet Frank wouldn't mind it if Alice was to join! And don't tell me he doesn't care about her, because he does.'

'That's different – Alice's going through Auror training –'

'So you _don't_ believe I'm capable?' Lily demanded. 'Why can't you just admit it?!'

James said nothing. He could feel his temper rising, but still said nothing.

'You know what?' said Lily eventually. 'Just forget it. Forget all of it.'

She stormed out of the house on her own into the night, slamming the door loudly behind her. It was still warm outside from the heat wave, and there were plenty of stars to guide her. Where she was going, she didn't know, but it didn't matter. A walk was exactly what she needed, anything to get out of the rage she was in.

'James?' said Remus.

'Mate, aren't you going to call her back?' said Sirius. 'After all of your talk about her being safe and everything –'

'Forget it,' said James curtly. 'She's probably going home, anyway.'

'What if she doesn't?' said Sirius relentlessly. 'She doesn't even have her wand on her, she left it behind at her place, remember –'

'Merlin,' whispered James.

He leapt up and followed Lily's footsteps out of the cottage. He felt a sudden déjà vu. He was strongly reminded of last Christmas when Lily and an old friend Vanessa had been invited around for the Christmas holidays, because Lily didn't want to go home with Petunia. One night when James and Sirius left the house to help Remus with his 'furry little problem', Lily took a long walk to try and get some signal on her mobile phone so she could phone her parents, as she couldn't get any signal from inside the house. A search ensued when Vanessa went to find her. The two girls came back with wounds, but they were alive. James tried kidding himself that he would find Lily with all of her limbs intact as he lit his wand and searched the streets, too scared to call out her name. Remus and Sirius weren't far behind him.

Ten minutes of searching, and they had heard no screams or squeals or strange sounds, yet, when they checked, Lily wasn't at home. They had to accept that she had Apparated somewhere else, because she was nowhere to be found. Was no news really good news? No sooner had the question formed in James's head when a hex of some sort just missed his ear. The three looked above and found four or five cloaked figures on brooms.

James heard Sirius swear under his breath and Remus step back and snap a twig.

'Guys, listen,' said James quietly, 'keep looking for Lily. I can probably take them on myself. Just _find her_, before anyone else does,' he added more vigorously when neither moved.

They stared at him blankly, but obeyed, although Sirius looked as though he wanted some action. James gave his neck a little stretch before saying, 'All right. You want me? Come get me.'

One of the masked figures swooped down on James. He knocked them off their broom and stole it, saying, 'Thanks, sucker.'

He then aimed a stunning spell at another, sending them straight to the ground. He was doing pretty well, although he couldn't get too complacent; there were still three more, and they were combining tactics to distract him, aiming more than one jinx in his direction at a time. He thanked his many years of being Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He ducked in time and two of the jinxes aimed at him rebounded and hit their casters.

'You're going DOWN Potter,' roared the last Death Eater.

'Stop,' hissed a cold, clear voice. 'Potter. James Potter … we meet again …'

This voice chilled James's bones. He looked down and, through the darkness, managed to make out yet another cloaked figure, only this one seemed to have more authority … but it couldn't be, not again …

'_Expelliarmus_,' came a woman's shout.

James saw something fly from Voldemort to the woman – the woman with dark red hair. Keeping an eye on the remaining Death Eater, James flew a little closer to the ground. His worst fear had just been confirmed. His girlfriend _had_ just disarmed the Dark Lord without being caught before.

'Disarmed by a Mudblood,' he sneered. 'I didn't think that was even possible.'

'Believe it, 'cause it happened,' said Lily ferociously in a harsh tone that would normally make James shudder.

'Have you thought anymore about becoming a part of my very exclusive band of supporters since the last time we met?' he asked, seeming untouched by Lily's rudeness.

'No,' Lily snapped, 'neither of us are interested.'

'You would be an asset to the dark side,' Voldemort continued, seeming untouched by Lily's words. 'You needn't die resisting. Dumbledore cannot protect you forever …'

'I really don't think – JAMES!'

The Death Eater who Lily had stolen his wand from regained consciousness and grabbed Voldemort's wand which was, until then, lying on the ground uselessly. He got James directly in the chest with a spell Lily didn't recognise. James toppled off of his broom to the ground; it was lucky there was a small distance between the two. Forgetting everything, forgetting they were in the presence of the Darkest wizard of all time, Lily ran over to his side immediately. She checked frantically for a pulse, but didn't feel any better when she found one.

'Fool,' hissed Voldemort to his Death Eater.

Lily stood James up and grabbed his wand before Apparating them back to his house, which had more people in it, not that she noticed; her thoughts were still with James. She didn't care who she was surrounded by or what they wanted, she had to know James was going to be all right.

'Lily, you're …' said Remus in relief, until he saw James, who was practically unconscious. 'What –?' He hastened to help James to the sofa.

'Remus, _do something_,' said Lily urgently. 'Anything! Please, quickly!'

He only had to look at her tear stricken face to find the strength to help out one of his best friends.

'Lily, come with me,' said Sirius firmly, grasping her arm and leading her to the kitchen.

There she found Professor Dumbledore talking seriously to a short man with silver hair, though not as bright as Dumbledore's. They both turned their heads when Lily stumbled in with Sirius by her side. She looked extremely absent, lost in thought.

'Here she is, sir,' said Sirius.

'Miss Evans,' said Dumbledore immediately, 'I must ask you immediately – _what happened_?'

It was took a while before Lily could speak, for tears were falling faster, and the guilt was practically strangling her. 'I – I had a little d – d – disagreement with J – James,' she stammered, her eyes darting from one floor tile to the next, 'a – and I stormed out of the house l – like the idiot I am. I th – think James tried following me. I – I'm not sure. A while l – later, I saw some people flying in the sky, I thought th – they were headed here. I f – followed them to check, falling behind a little. When I c – caught up with them, V – Voldemort was watching everything from the ground. H – he didn't notice me so I sneakily t – took the wand of this Death Eater lying on the g – ground. I disarmed him –'

'You _disarmed _the Dark Lord?' said Sirius disdainfully. 'Better than nothing, I guess.'

'It w – was the first thing that came to mind,' said Lily shakily, tears still streaming down his face. 'V – Voldemort then told the D – Death Eater to stop f – fighting. He asked J – James and I if we were int – erested in j – joining him again.'

'He attempted to recruit you?' Dumbledore said sharply.

Lily nodded. 'Again.'

'What did you say?' he asked in a softer tone.

'We mocked him,' said Lily. 'B – but then the Death Eat-er whose wand I stole woke up. He took an a – abandoned wand and got James w – with a spell of some sort. I c – couldn't warn him in time and he fell off the broom I think he stole – James –!' her voice broke and her tears started again.

'Sh, Lil,' said Sirius soothingly. He embraced his friend who was so like a little sister to him and stroked her hair. He felt hot tear drops fall onto his chest, but he didn't complain. 'It wasn't your fault, any of it. Of course there was nothing you could've done. It doesn't matter, anyway. Remus is gonna fix him back up.' He then turned to his old Headmaster. 'Professor, I really don't think she's up for anymore of this.'

'She must,' said Dumbledore gently. 'It is crucial that I know. Lily, you understand this, don't you?'

The redhead nodded and broke away from Sirius.

'V – Volde – mort told his D – Death Eater off – f for what he did, and I used that time to grab James and his wand a – and bring him back h – here,' she finished.

'That was very brave of you,' the unknown man said kindly. He had an extremely wheezy voice.

Dumbledore caught Sirius's questioning look and said, 'This is Elphias Doge. He, too, is a member of the Order.'

'Th – thank you,' said Lily, even managing a small smile.

'I must alert the others,' said Dumbledore. 'This calls for a meeting, I should think. Don't worry, it won't be tonight,' he added, once again catching the expression on Sirius's face.

Just then, Remus burst through the door, saying, 'We need to take James to St Mungo's. He's not looking too good.'

*.*.*

It was dawn already. Lily wouldn't have known this if Sirius didn't tell her, as he passed her yet another cup of hot chocolate. She had been in that chair, resting her head on the armrest for hours with Remus and Sirius for company. Mrs Potter had felt sick from waiting at the hospital, and so was escorted home. To their knowledge, Peter was looking out for her. He wasn't Lily's first choice, but then her first choice was lying as if dead in a hospital bed and it was all because of her.

'Thanks,' said Lily, accepting the cup of hot chocolate. She sat up and let Sirius's jacket slide off her.

'Gonna get to sleep yet?' Remus asked worriedly.

She was the only one who stayed awake. Remus and Sirius would occasionally doze off, but the guilt of her deeds kept her awake.

'I don't feel like it,' she sniffed.

She looked a right sight. Her hair was a state, her nose was red and her eyes were puffy from crying so much. She wasn't normally much of a crier, but this was _James, _the James she came to realise had meant the world to her.

'Lily, he's going to be alright,' said Sirius sincerely. 'You know James, he can pull through anything.'

'You don't understand,' said Lily thickly, as the waterworks started again. 'We're not in Hogwarts anymore. If we get a splinter or something petty that we used to moan about, we can't just skip up to Madam Pomfrey and expect her to fix it in two seconds. This is the _real world_. People get hurt in the real world.'

'People get better too,' said Remus quietly. 'And James is a strong man. He's been through plenty worse than this, largely thanks to me.'

'But I just feel so guilty …'

'I always do,' Remus admitted. 'But it was slight comfort, reminding myself that he signed up for it. He signed up to run around with a,' he dropped his voice, 'a werewolf once a month, just like he signed up for _this_. If this is what it takes to keep your feet on the ground, then this is just what he's going to have to do. Besides, this is great practise for the future. Being in the Order and in the thick of the action, he's going to need some practise, and this was a great place to start.'

Lily sniffed, smiling quickly. 'What would I do without you?'

'Probably live a more peaceful life,' said Sirius truthfully.

'It wouldn't be as much fun,' said Lily, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

'True that,' he joked.

Lily thanked the two and went back into her quiet, thoughtful mode, while they talked about other issues in low voices. It wasn't long before Lily fell asleep. Sirius cooed over how cute and innocent she looked in her sleep. Maybe he was being silly, but Remus felt this might have just made James stir.

His fingers moved first, and then he began shaking his head gently.

'Prongs?' said Sirius abruptly.

James's eyes opened slowly. He was confused for a moment, staring at the white ceiling. And like the Curse, the memories hit him. He got up rapidly and found a horrible pain in his chest that made him gasp.

'Lie back down, you're going to hurt yourself even more,' said Remus sharply.

'Lily,' he eventually said. 'How's Lily?'

'She's sleeping, mate,' said Sirius, pointing to the lump of black and redness in a chair James hadn't seen before. 'Stayed up all night crying her eyes out, she did.'

James swore bitterly.

'How're you feeling?' Remus asked tentatively.

'A li'l freaked,' said James. 'Did she fill you in on what happened last night?'

'Yeah,' said Sirius. 'You have every right to be freaked for the rest of your life. I'm still getting over the fact that you guys owned _Voldemort_. Again.'

James grinned. He attempted sitting up again, slowly this time. 'She was pretty … amazing.'

'Isn't that why you fell in love with her?' Remus asked. 'You said she was sugar, spice and everything nice.'

'I guess I was a little hard on her,' said James ashamedly. 'I just don't want someone as delicate as her going out into everything we _just_ escaped from, you know?'

'James,' said Remus, 'I see why you would worry, but you don't really need to. Lily's already proven herself. You've got to have more faith in her strength. The Sorting Hat didn't place her in Gryffindor for no reason. She is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and talented witches any of us will ever get to know. She has a gift. Let her use and explore it.'

Unable to say anything, James nodded, smiling. 'If I ever go crazily overprotective on her again,' he said, 'slap me.'

'Gladly,' said Sirius, getting up and rolling his sleeves.

'Not now!' said James loudly.

The noise made Lily shifted in her seat.

'Oh, good one,' Sirius huffed, 'you woke her up.'

She shifted again, before her eyes opened slightly.

'Huh?' she said groggily. 'Did I fall asleep? Is James awake yet?'

'See for yourself,' said Remus with a hint of excitement.

She was sitting bolt upright in a second. She looked around until she found James and saw that he was a wake, a smile slowly slipping off his face.

'Er, Padfoot, wanna go upstairs and get some more hot chocolate with me?' said Remus quickly, getting up and pulling Sirius along anyway.

'But I don't feel like any more – WHOA –!'

Lily and James's eyes began watering as soon as they were left alone.

'I am so, so, so, _so_ sorry,' she whispered, edging closer to his bed and putting her hands on his face. 'James, really. I shouldn't have argued with you, I shouldn't have just stormed out of the house and I should've kept an eye on that sneaky Death Eater who got to you. I was just so –'

'Sh,' said James softly, his hands either side of her tear-stained face. He wiped her tears gently with his thumbs. 'Not another word. _I _should be apologising to _you_. I know I can get a little dominating and overprotective sometimes. I'm just _so scared_ of losing you. You read about it all the time in the papers and you hear about it in the Wizarding Wireless Network, but I can't imagine what it'd be like if I lost you. And I never want to.'

Lily gave him a watery smile. 'You're not going anywhere without me,' she said. 'I promise you wherever you go, I won't be far behind.'

'I would make that promise,' said James, 'but we'd be going around in circles following each other.'

Lily couldn't help but laugh. She backed away from him a little. 'I'll go and get Remus and Sirius. They're probably dying to see you … no pun intended,' she added, pulling a face.

'Alright, love,' he smiled.

Lily went out in the corridor and found Remus and Sirius with their ears to the wall. Sirius had his back to Lily, not knowing she was there.

'It's gone all quiet,' said Sirius in a hushed voice. 'Do you reckon she's coming?'

'Er, Sirius …' said Remus, standing up straight. 'I reckon she might already be here …'

Sirius turned around and saw Lily with her lips pursed and her hands on her hips.

'You boys like listening in?' Lily asked. She then grabbed them by their ears and said, 'Well, listen to this. Don't. Do that. Again.' This was fun.

She then dragged them to James.

'What did they do this time?' James asked, sighing out of exhaustion.

'They were eavesdropping.'

'Er, you guys make a really cute couple!' said Remus.

'Won't help you now, Moony,' Sirius grunted. 'Ow, Lily! That hurts! Leggofme!'

She released both of their earlobes and said, 'I'm gonna go upstairs for some hot chocolate. Seriously, I'm in need of a drink. I won't eavesdrop like _some_ people …'

'Hurry back,' James called after her.

'Will do,' she called back.

James, Remus and Sirius were lost for words. They merely looked from one another, too lost for words, before embracing each other.

'I almost stopped believing my reassurances to Lily,' said Sirius, 'that you were gonna be alright, mate.'

'Yeah,' said Remus tearfully. _Remus_.

'Ah, come on, guys,' said James as they broke apart. 'You're both tougher than that, I know it. We've been through too much to break down now.'

'You're right,' said Sirius indistinctly.

'By the way, thanks,' said James unexpectedly. 'For giving Lily all of your support when she needed it most. Promise me that if – _if _– anything happens to me, you'll be there for her?'

'You don't need to ask for that,' said Sirius. 'We'll always be here for our favourite flower. Well, not here in the hospital, because that would just be worrying …'

James grinned. He was okay. He had survived his first mini-battle with the love of his life by his side. And his best friends, his brothers, were going to get better. Everything was all right … for now.

* * *

_Wednesday 9th August 1978_

* * *

**A/N: This story is back up again. I have a ton of chapters already written and ready to be posted. Please tell me what you thought about this chapter! Thank you.**

**- LittleRedLily xo**


	3. Bloodshed and Heartbreak

Recap:

_- Lily and the Marauders joined the Order of the Phoenix along with some friends._

_- Lily and James defied Voldemort for the second time. Voldemort asked them to join the Death Eaters; they both refused_

* * *

- Chapter Three -

~ Bloodshed and Heartbreak ~

It was amazing how, despite all that had happened, those who had recently left Hogwarts feared receiving their N.E.W.T. results more than they feared Lord Voldemort. Lily was sitting in the living room of her house trying to focus on the news in the television when a barn owl knocked on the living room window. Lily rushed over to open the window and let the owl in. She untied the Hogwarts crest-bearing letter from the owl and watched it fly away. With shaking hands and an extremely pale face, she looked down at her letter. No way was she going to open it without James, Peter, Remus or Sirius. She was that nervous.

She left the house and turned on the spot with the letter in her hand. She was going to no place other than Godric's Hollow. She Apparated to the front door of the Potters' cottage; like James, she was never sure whether or not she should go right in.

Mrs Potter opened the door looking very cheery to see Lily.

'Oh, dear, you know you can come right in,' Mrs Potter said warmly, allowing Lily to enter.

'Thank you, Mrs Potter,' Lily smiled, reflecting her tone. 'Have James's results come?'

Mrs Potter laughed slightly. 'Yes, but the boy's not even awake yet. He was out all night with the others.'

Lily pulled a face. 'I really want to get this over with.'

A minute later found Lily bursting into James's room, loudly saying, 'James! James, get up! It's nearly midday already!'

James groaned and turned over. He looked quite cute when he was asleep. His hair was messier than usual and he had forgotten to take his glasses off. The bed blankets were all over the place. Lily nearly stepped on a cushion on her way in. How badly had he slept?

Lily perched herself on the foot of his bed. Sometimes, she really hated how he was always there for Remus when it was full moon for the sole reason that he wouldn't get enough sleep. Other times, she couldn't be more proud of what an amazing friend he was.

For the next couple of hours, Lily and Mrs Potter relaxed in the comfy sofas in the living room and had some quality bonding time; Mrs Potter was like a mother for Lily, whose own mother wasn't with them any longer. Lily would open up to her about problems with Petunia and Mrs Potter would tell her funny stories about James as a child, which really were quite amusing – much to James's displeasure.

'Oh, have I told you about the time a five-year-old James stole my wand and turned his father's hair turquoise?' Mrs Potter said, laughing slightly. 'I learnt from then on never to leave my wand lying around.'

Lily laughed, picturing a younger James. 'What happened to Mr Potter's hair?'

'He tried turning it back,' said Mrs Potter, laughter still etched on her face, 'but he couldn't, for some reason. He had to go to work like that. It wore off after a couple of days. We knew from that moment that James was going to make a great wizard.'

Lily's jaw dropped. 'You were _proud_ of your son for turning his father's hair blue? When I showed my mother a bit of magic, she told me to never do it again.'

'What did you do?' Mrs Potter asked curiously.

'Tuney – Petunia and I were on the swings in some park, we were about six or seven or eight,' Lily began, 'and Mum was watching us. I swung higher than Petunia and released while I was at the very height of the arc. I didn't jump and I didn't fall – I flew. Mum told me not to do that again. She said it was extremely dangerous.'

'That's a very extraordinary bit of magic you did there,' Mrs Potter commented impressively.

'You never told me that,' said James. 'Flying at a young age. That's pretty cool.'

Lily didn't notice him leaning against the doorframe casually. He walked over to her and sat down beside her, giving her a quick hug.

'Didn't think it mattered,' said Lily lightly. She didn't like talking much about old times with Petunia, or another old and unmentionable friend of hers.

'How come you didn't like flying on a broom before, then?' James asked.

To spare Lily from answering, Mrs Potter said, 'Oh, James, we've had an owl from the school! Your N.E.W.T. results are here. I figured you would want to open it yourself.'

James's eyes widened in shock – or was it fear? 'Why didn't you wake me up before?!'

Lily slapped her forehead. 'I tried. You looked really tired, anyway. I thought I'd leave you to sleep.'

'How did you do?' James asked carefully, accepting his letter from his mother.

'I wanted to open mine with you,' said Lily. 'I'm really nervous.'

In spite of himself, James grinned. 'You can do this, Lil. You're not a Gryffindor for nothing. Right, we're going to do this on the count of three, okay?'

Lily nodded.

'One … two … Sirius!'

Sirius had just Apparated straight into the Potters' living room. He, too, was holding his results, and he, too, was wearing a horrified expression.

'It's here!' he shouted. 'It's actually here!'

'Envelopes open on the count of three,' James repeated. 'One … two –'

'Prongs, I can't do this!' Sirius shouted, throwing his letter in the air.

Lily groaned. 'Sirius! What is with you? You're normally irritatingly over-confident, and now –'

'On the count of three,' said James for the last time. 'One … two … three!'

Lily tore open her envelope and took out the parchment.

_NASTILY EXHAUSTING WIZARDING TEST RESULTS_

_Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)  
Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)  
Acceptable (A) Troll (T)_

_LILY EVANS HAS ACHIEVED:_

_Care of Magical Creatures: E  
Charms: O  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O  
Herbology: E  
Potions: O  
Transfiguration: O_

Lily exhaled happily, her eyes nearing wateriness. She had passed all six of the subjects she had taken. She had taken more subjects than most other students, and so wasn't disappointed by her two E's. Potions and Charms were her favourite subject, and she had done outstandingly in the two of them. She was okay. Lily turned to look at James. He, too, looked in relief at the parchment before his eyes. Lily peered over his shoulder.

_JAMES POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:_

_Arithmancy: O  
Charms: O  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O  
Potions: E  
Transfiguration: O_

Lily couldn't help but squeal in delight. They had both done well. She hugged James tightly, ecstatic, while Mrs Potter took James's results to look at. Simultaneously, Lily and James turned to Sirius who was grinning broadly at his results. They both rushed over to his side and saw he had gotten similar results to James, only he had an 'O' in Potions and an 'E' in Charms.

'Sirius Black,' said Mrs Potter happily when she saw his results, 'I couldn't be any more proud of you.'

She gave him an extremely tight hug. Lily knew Mrs Potter felt responsible for giving Sirius the love his own mother never gave him. Sirius's parents saw him as a disappointment, and had done even before his first-year at Hogwarts when the Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor, instead of Slytherin like everyone else in the family. They frequently compared Sirius to his younger brother, Regulus, who made it into Slytherin. Sirius acted like he didn't mind, infuriating his parents by being rebellious and, at sixteen, running away to live with the Potters and later moving into his own place bought buy money he inherited from a late uncle. But those close to him knew he hurt deep, deep down, no matter how hard he attempted to conceal his true feelings.

'Thanks, Mrs P,' Sirius grinned when they broke apart.

'This calls for brownies, I think,' said Mrs Potter, trotting off to the kitchen. Mrs Potter's brownies were famous amongst James's closest friends.

'What about Peter and Remus?' Lily asked, sounding quite fearful. 'I wonder how they're doing.'

'Ah, you know them,' said James, 'they're probably celebrating with their folks if they've actually woken up. We can catch up with them later. Come on, what do you want to do now?'

*.*.*

Precious time slipped away like sand in an hourglass. Most of this time was spent carrying out tasks of various danger ratings for the Order. Meetings were held in Godric's Hollow more often than not, as Mrs Potter was an excellent host, although she wasn't an official member. On Sirius's nineteenth birthday in September, she made a spectacular chocolate cake with silver and white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles. No one could be too old for cake, especially if Mrs Potter had made it. The cake was sliced equally for all of the Order members and Mrs Potter. Sirius, of course, had two slices and distributed the cake to all the now-familiar Order members. Indeed it had taken all of the new members a while before they could name all of the other members.

There was Alastor Moody, commonly known as Mad-Eye. The nickname came from his appearance and the fact that he was quite crazy; one of his eyes was brown, whereas the other was electric blue and could do things normal eyes couldn't, such as see through solid objects. His eye got damaged fighting against a Death Eater a few years earlier. He worked in the Ministry as an Auror – and a very successful one at that. He refused cake at first, but accepted upon Mrs Potter's insistence.

Some people like Dorcas Meadowes didn't need telling twice. Dorcas was almost as good as Sirius at making people laugh.

'Hang on,' said Sirius, frowning and look down at the two slices of cake left, 'who didn't get any cake?'

Lily looked up and scanned the room. 'We're missing three people. Aberforth never comes to meetings … We're missing Alice and Frank.'

Alice and Frank were two new additions to the Order. Dumbledore found them trustworthy and strong enough, as both were in their final year of Auror training.

'That's odd,' Remus commented. 'They knew we had a meeting today.'

'Where could they be?' James wondered aloud. 'The meeting's gonna start soon.'

'Alice has probably forgotten,' Sirius shrugged. 'You know how forgetful she can be.'

'And Frank?' Lily asked in a ghostly way. 'Frank's not so forgetful.'

'He's probably stuck at the Ministry,' said Remus calmly. 'Being an Auror in-training must be tough.'

'Well, Mad-Eye's here,' Lily pointed out.

'Hey, Mad-Eye!' Sirius called across the room. 'Have you seen Frank Longbottom?'

'No,' Mad-Eye called back. 'He left the Ministry early to get here.'

'Lost in his own little world with Alice,' said James. 'He wouldn't not come here on purpose.'

'What if someone got to them?' Lily whispered.

'Lily –' Sirius began, but he was interrupted.

Alice and Frank staggered into the room covered in blood from head-to-toe, looking extremely weak.

Marlene shrieked 'MERLIN'S PANTS!' and Lily covered her mouth to muffle her own scream. James, Sirius and Sturgis Podmore, a wizard with a square jaw and thick, straw-coloured hair a couple of years older than James, rushed forwards immediately to help them. Everyone else hopped up, clearing sofas for the injured two. Emmeline Vance, an extremely talented witch, bent over Alice frantically, trying to sort her out, while Dorcas, who was an equally powerful witch, looked at Frank's wounds.

It was hard to tell who looked worse. Frank had a puffy eye and bleeding lip, as well as several nasty cuts on his cheeks and arms. Alice's face was fairly bruised and her clothes were heavily blood-stained.

After about half an hour when it was certain that the pair were going to be fine, many Order members left; the meeting had to be rescheduled. Only Emmeline Vance, Albus Dumbledore, McGonagall, the Prewett brothers, Remus, Dorcas, Marlene, Sirius, Lily and James stayed behind.

'How're you feeling now, Alice?' Lily asked her softly. 'Do you want anything?'

Alice opened her eyes very slightly and in an alarmingly faint voice murmured, 'Just water, please …'

Lily abruptly stood up and hurried to the kitchen, closely followed by James and Sirius. She got out a glass and placed it underneath the running tap.

'What a thing to happen,' said Sirius gloomily. 'Thank Merlin they survived. Not many people do, coming up against Voldemort. You guys are so lucky.'

'Luck,' Lily repeated croakily, turning around to look at them. 'How much more luck do we have until we run out?'

'Don't think like that,' said James firmly. 'It's a combination of luck and skill and, as a group, we have enough of both. We're not going to let Voldemort get to us. That's what he wants. But we won't let him. Look, Frank and Alice are fine now. They escaped Voldemort, they can do anything. I'll take that, love,' he added in a softer tone, taking the glass of water from Lily's shaking hand and leaving the kitchen.

'C'mon, Lil,' Sirius muttered, hugging her. 'You're normally a source of strength and courage. Don't give up on us when we need you most. Not now.'

'You're right,' Lily sniffed. 'Alice and Frank are going to be perfectly fine. We all are. We're going to make it through this terrible war. _All of us_.'

*.*.*

Being in the Order wasn't all work when most of the people you worked alongside were fairly humorous. James made sure that Lily had her relaxation time, as well. In late September that year, he and Lily flew to the middle of nowhere on Sirius's motorbike. James was thankful that Godric's Hollow was in the west side of the country, as it was a very rural area and there were plenty of ideal places for picnics and dates.

'You need it,' he said softly, getting out the picnic blanket and laying it on the ground. 'We need it. There's so much going on we forget the things that really matter, like living.'

Lily beamed. 'I agree. But this picnic … you've really outdone yourself. You amaze me.'

'What can I say?' James said jokingly, pretending to be smug. 'I'm an amazing person.'

He pulled her down to sit next to him.

'Yes, you are,' she smiled, pressing her lips against his.

James pulled away and half-opened the picnic basket to get some food out.

'Oh, let me –' Lily began.

'No! Don't,' said James abruptly, as he got some sandwiches out.

Lily frowned at his queerness. 'Okay …' she said slowly, accepting a sandwich from him. 'Did you make all of these sandwiches by yourself?'

'Of course,' said James, grinning. 'What do you think? I'd let Mum or Sirius help me? Tch. As if.'

Lily merely gaped at him.

'Okay, maybe they helped a little bit,' said James quietly, looking away. 'But it was mostly me.'

'Sure,' Lily said, barely concealing a smile.

James took a look in the basket and pulled out two tiny iced flasks of pumpkin juice, revealing a small, midnight, velvety box. He discreetly slipped this box into his left hand and up the shirt of his sleeve where he was sure it wouldn't fall out.

'You don't forget anything, do you?' Lily smirked.

'No,' said James. 'No, I don't.'

Lily then gasped. 'Did you hear about Alice and Frank?'

'Wh – what?!' James said distractedly, looking alert. 'Are they okay?!'

'Yeah, yeah, they're fine,' she replied. 'Actually, they've never been better. Frank proposed to Alice!'

'He what?'

'Frank asked Alice to marry him,' she said. 'And she, of course, said yes.'

'Wow, that's … great! I was wondering if and when Frank would ask her.'

'Yeah …' said Lily thoughtfully, finishing her sandwich.

'Something wrong?' James asked.

Lily looked uncomfortable as she explained. 'I just feel like, you know, everyone's rushing because of the war, especially looking at what had happened to Alice and Frank. No one's taking the time to think about the choices they make. Alice and Frank look amazing together, there's no denying that, but it just feels too … rushed.'

'Yeah … rushed …' said James thoughtfully. He slipped the small black box out of his sleeve and into his trouser pocket without Lily noticing. 'I guess we are a bit young …'

'Glad I didn't come off too critical,' said Lily warmly. 'Merlin, I _love_ picnics, especially with you.'

'Yeah, me too …' said James absently.

*.*.*

It was good that Lily sat in front of James as they flew back to Godric's Hollow on Sirius's flying motorbike, because she fell asleep in his arms, leaving James with a lot to think about.

_It feels too … rushed_.

They rode through the night sky, which was littered with twinkling stars. It was such a beautiful night; it should have been their night. He gently awoke her when they arrived outside of her house. It was strange how Muggles didn't spot them. The motorbike's roar was quite noisy.

'Lil,' said James softly. 'Lil, come on. Lily …'

Sleepily, she tripped off the motorbike and fell in James's arm. It was understandable that she was extremely tired; James knew she hadn't slept properly as she was doing research for the Order.

With Lily in his arms, James took out his wand and approached the front door. Pointing his wand at the keyhole, he whispered, '_Alohomora_' and pushed the door open. He switched the landing light on and took Lily upstairs and to her bed, where he tucked her in cosily and switched off the light, laughing slightly; James didn't understand light switches, or electricity. He found them the tiniest bit amusing.

Almost as soon as he closed Lily's bedroom door behind him, he found himself face-to-face with Sirius.

'Crap!' James said breathlessly, feeling his heart hammer. 'Don't do that, Sirius! You scared me!'

'How'd it go?' Sirius asked him as they walked down the stairs.

'It didn't,' said James, trying to hide his sadness. 'I don't think she's ready.'

'What makes you think that?'

'Something she said,' said James painfully. 'It doesn't matter, anyway.'

'What'd she say?' Sirius asked persistently. He opened the front door and the two walked out of it.

'She said something about thinking how Alice and Frank were rushing their relationship a bit,' said James. 'You know, engaged already.'

'Frank and Alice are engaged?' Sirius said, sounding bewildered. 'Merlin, I don't hear about anything these days. Well, good for them. Are you sure Lily meant what she said?'

'Doesn't she normally mean the things she says?' said James blankly.

'She could be a tiny bit jealous, you know,' said Sirius, sitting on his motorbike. 'That could've been her way of dropping a hint. If there's one thing I learnt at Hogwarts, it's that women are more complicated than History of Magic. No, more complicated than Divination. No, more complicated than the two put together.'

'Seven years at Hogwarts,' said James flatly, 'and that's it?'

Sirius shrugged. 'See you later?'

'Sure, sure,' James sighed.

He watched Sirius ride off into the night sky. He turned on the spot, eager to head home. Little did he know, he was in for a shock.

* * *

_Tuesday 3__rd__ October 1978_


	4. James's Sole Request

Recap:

_- Lily and the Marauders receive their NEWT results._

_- Alice and Frank get attacked by Death Eaters._

_- James takes Lily on a date where he was about to propose to Lily until she put him off._

_Sirius shrugged. 'See you later?'_

'_Sure, sure,' James sighed._

_He watched Sirius ride off into the night sky. He turned on the spot, eager to head home. Little did he know, he was in for a shock._

* * *

- Chapter Four -

~ James's Sole Request ~

James illuminated the room he had just Apparated into and shrugged off his jacket, when he found his mother lying with her eyes closed on the sofa. He hoped she didn't try staying awake for him; it was going to become a habit of hers.

'Mum,' said James softly, nudging his mother gently. 'Mum, get up. You're going to hurt your back even more, sleeping like that.'

Mrs Potter didn't respond. Colour seemed to be draining from her face before his very eyes.

'Mum,' James said again, panic clear in his voice. He rocked her roughly. She didn't awaken. 'MUM! MUUUUUM!' His heart was beginning to pound almost painfully. 'Mum, _please_! Mum? Mummy? Mama? Mum?!'

He could hear her breathing extremely lightly. He felt the pulse in her wrist; it was still there, as weak as it seemed.

James lifted his mother up and turned on the spot. Once again, they were off to St Mungo's. A Healer got to James quickly. Mrs Potter was taken away to get checked over while James waited impatiently outside the room, pacing out of nervousness. How could he have left his dear mother alone? What was wrong with him? How could he be so _stupid_?! She was, as much as either of them hated to admit it, getting old. She just wasn't the same strong woman she once was.

It was getting quite late. The hospital was fairly empty, besides a few Healers rushing around looking harassed.

A couple of hours later, a blonde-haired Healer returned to James.

'How is –?' James began fearfully.

'Your mother's doing fine, Mr Potter,' said the Healer warmly. 'She had a strange type of heart attack, due to overworking herself in terms of magic.'

'She what?' James asked stupidly.

'Basically, she's been working herself a little too hard,' said the Healer kindly. 'We're going to keep her here under observation for sixteen hours and after that, you can take her home, but she's allowed to do little to no magic for seven days.'

'_Seven days_?' James repeated. 'Oh – okay. I understand. Thank you, Healer.'

The Healer nodded kindly and left James. He entered the ward in which his mother lay and fell asleep in an chair by her bed while holding onto her hand, thinking about life and how it could be taken away at any time … It was foolish the way all of them took the time they had in this world for granted, took the people who accompanied them on life's journey for granted. But, no, he, James Potter, was going to do that no more. Who knew how much time they had left? Between natural causes of death and the Wizarding war … it could be him next.

*.*.*

Order meetings seemed highly inappropriate when their wonderful host was lying in bed on Sirius's insistence. Indeed, Mrs Potter survived the seven days without magic in the comfort of her own bed with James and Sirius for entertainment, while Lily and Remus had fun in the kitchen. This worked out, because Mrs Potter, James and Sirius often conversed about matters they'd rather Lily didn't hear.

'You haven't asked her yet?' Sirius asked, shocked.

'I don't want to just spring this one on her,' said James lowly. 'And it doesn't seem the right time for it, you know, with Mum and all …'

'Oh, James,' said Mrs Potter, 'I think now would be the perfect time. I've got everyone shaken. Everyone needs a reason to celebrate.'

'I agree with Mumzie,' said Sirius instantly. 'James, do it – before she gets the idea that you're never gonna.'

'What if she doesn't _love_ me?' James asked. 'What if she doesn't feel like I'm, you know, the One? We've only been going out for a few months. What if it's too soon?'

'_No one_ will ever love Lily the way you do, mate,' said Sirius solemnly. 'You held onto her for years, despite the bitter relationship you used to share. You couldn't give up on her. She loves you despite your flaws. You two complement each other. I can't imagine a pair more made for each other. And that all just came from me.'

'Wow,' said James. 'You really think?'

'Yes,' said Sirius impatiently. 'And I think a nice wedding would lighten up these dark times a little.'

'In that case …' James breathed, 'I'll try again. I will. And I won't back out.'

Just then, Lily and Remus burst into the room, bringing an aura of happiness along with them. Lily was holding a tray of food.

'Lunch,' she chimed. Sirius got up so that Lily could give Mrs Potter the tray.

Remus put the glass of pumpkin juice down and continued eating his box of biscuits. Sirius went over to him and nicked a few.

'Made it myself,' Lily chirped. 'Remus was feeling just a little too unhelpful earlier.'

'Sorry, Lil,' said Remus apologetically. 'These biscuits are really nice.'

'They're my old dog biscuits,' Sirius frowned, helping himself to a few more. When he moved out of the Potters' house and into his new place, Sirius had left a few things behind.

Remus choked and began coughing. James banged him on the back.

'Your – what?!'

'Dog biscuits,' said Sirius casually, having some more. 'I'm the Dog Star; it's perfectly acceptable for me to have dog biscuits. You, on the other hand …'

'I don't want anymore,' said Remus instantly, thrusting the box to Sirius.

Mrs Potter, Lily and James burst out laughing, and once they started, they couldn't stop, for this was one of those moments in time in which everything was perfectly fine, and there was the slimmest chance that things were going to be this easy again.

*.*.*

'That's sick,' said Sirius disgustedly, screwing up some parchment and throwing it in the fireplace.

'What's wrong?' Peter asked him.

'Just got a letter from my cousin Andromeda,' Sirius said in that same tone. 'Her little sister Narcissa just got married to Lucius Malfoy.'

'Lucius Malfoy?' Lily repeated. 'That creepy blonde-haired rumoured Death Eater who used to be a Prefect?'

'That's the one,' said Sirius. 'I swear people in the Black family have a weird taste in partners. Besides Andromeda, of course.'

'Doesn't she and Ted Tonks have a child?' Remus enquired.

'Yeah,' said Sirius, 'the little Metamorphmagus, Nymphadora. They have an odd taste in names, as well …'

'Wait, Metamorphmagi, that rings a bell …' said Lily slowly. 'They can alter their appearances at will, can't they?'

'Yup,' said Sirius easily, 'I see an Auror in the family.'

'I'm sure she'll make a great Dark wizard catcher,' said Lily lightly, 'if there're any Dark wizards left when we're done with them. Honestly, the way we're being trained …'

James was quiet. He was still thinking about when he was going to propose to Lily. He found himself carrying her ring around just in case he managed to pluck up the courage. It was lucky he did this, because his timing couldn't have been any more perfect.

Days after his first attempt, he was to try again.

Lily was lazily splayed on her bed, kicking her legs and reading a book. Sometimes, reading was her only getaway, but she hadn't been able to in a while with so much going on. It was strange how, when she was a child, unaware she was a witch, she had wished and wished magic were real – she believed in fairy tales, in "happily ever after"s, she would have given anything for wands and magic to be real. And now, if being magical came with wars, she wasn't certain she wanted magic to be real anymore …

But, still, magic had led her to James, whom she was unbelievably happy with. That had to be the silver lining.

Lily's bedroom was filled with flaming orange sunset light. She turned another page of her book, but, before she could read a word of it, someone knocked on her bedroom door, although it was open.

Lily put her book down and looked up, smiling as James strode in and sat on her bed next to her.

'Hey,' she said softly. 'I didn't think I was going to see you today. I thought you said you had plans?'

'I do,' he replied, 'with you. Do you want to go out somewhere for dinner?'

'You're so spontaneous,' Lily smirked, sitting up. 'Of course. I thought I was just going to lie here and read for the entire night.'

'Aren't you glad I came along now?' he said, mimicking her smirk. He kissed her softly on the lips three times before pulling away.

'You keep thinking you're doing me a favour,' she said, kissing him. 'Now, get up and out. I must get changed.'

'You look beautiful how you are right now!' James protested, standing up, but Lily got up herself and pushed him out.

She was ready in ten minutes, dressed in a fashionable, short-sleeved, sparkly midnight top and an elegant rose-red skirt. James whistled when he saw her come down the stairs. She whacked him with her scarlet handbag, grinning and blushing.

'Forgotten anything?' he asked.

'No,' she answered, locking the front door and taking James's hand.

He Apparated the two outside a large restaurant Lily wasn't familiar with, but the name (written in an elegant script) seemed Italian. Lily cast a nervous glance around to make sure no one caught their Apparition.

'It's okay, Lil,' said James smoothly. 'Even if a Muggle saw us Apparate, they'd probably think they were going crazy.'

'Is that supposed to be reassuring?'

James smirked and led her into the restaurant.

It was just as fancy on the inside as it was on the out. The lavish, velvety carpet was a pretty shade of burgundy and the drapes hung loosely on the walls. The restaurant was well-lit and the noise levels were bearable. It was obvious James had chosen this place by himself.

'Reservation under James Potter,' said James to smartly-dressed man.

'Table number seven for Mr and Mrs Potter,' he said to a waiter, smiling at the couple.

'Er – Evans,' said Lily hastily, trying not to blush, 'Miss Evans.'

'Oh, my mistake,' said the man, crossing out something in his book.

Lily and James followed the waiter to their petite, round table. James pulled out Lily's chair for her and waited for her to sit down before taking a seat himself. The waiter poured the two drinks and left.

'Really classy,' said Lily. 'Your find?'

'You know me well,' said James.

They continued conversing in low tones until the waiter returned and asked them if they were ready to order. It was then that Lily and James looked down at their menus; they were so caught up in conversation.

'I think I'll have pasta with …' said James.

'I'll have what he's having,' she said quickly, putting her menu down. When the waiter left, she added, 'If it doesn't taste nice, that's your neck on the line.'

James laughed. 'I've been here before, it's okay.'

'With who?' said Lily hastily, thinking of all the girls she had gone to Hogwarts with.

James chuckled yet again. He was enjoying this. 'My parents when we were littler. It was some family thing with these Muggles Dad knew. All I remember of that day was Dad fumbling around with paper money. Why is the money made of paper? It's only paper, not like gold or anything. It's not really all that valuable at all.'

'It's not about how it looks,' Lily explained, 'but how much value's put on it. In this case, paper has a lot of value. The same applies to most objects. You can look at someone's family heirloom and see it as being valueless, but to them, it could mean the world.'

'Hmm … I suppose that's true,' said James, sipping some of his drink.

When their food finally came, they found they ate very little of it, for Lily accidentally started a food fight. She was talking to James at the same time as having a bit of pasta on her fork. When she shook her hand, the bit of pasta flew off her fork and hit James on the face, leaving sauce stains.

James's jaw dropped. He pelted a bit of his own pasta in Lily's direction, but, in a fit of giggles, she ducked and their waiter got hit instead. He turned around and looked at them, his face contorted with rage, but said nothing as James was looking innocently up at the ceiling and Lily had her back to him.

When the same waiter came along to take away their plates, Lily carelessly knocked over a glass of water in an attempt to help him, and he found his trousers were soaked.

'I am _so_ sorry,' said Lily, sounding panic-stricken while James hid his laughter.

People from nearby tables were now watching with mild amusement clearly etched on their faces.

'It is okay, it is okay,' said the waiter, and for the first time Lily noticed he had a strong Italian accent.

He hurried away before they could do anything else to him.

'James, don't _laugh_!' said Lily imploringly as James covered his mouth with his hands, trying to shut up. 'Seriously!'

Dessert was even worse, only it was James fault this time. The waiter had come with their long-awaited desserts, only, at the same time, James decided to visit the men's. When he pushed his chair back, he bumped into the waiter. Consequently, the desserts were tipped on him. Lily's jaw dropped as she hurriedly stood up and handed napkins to the waiter. A fellow colleague, too, tried helping and another went to the kitchens to sort out Lily and James's desserts again.

'Really sorry about that,' said James solemnly, running a hand through his hair.

'It's okay,' said the waiter, smiling painfully. He looked like he wanted to do nothing more than tip dessert over James's head, but there wasn't any more to do so. When he walked off, Lily swore she heard him counting to ten.

'I think I'll just stay put,' said James, sitting back down.

Lily burst out laughing, taking great pleasure in the fact that it wasn't her fault this time.

Another waiter came to them with dessert, and left abruptly, as if frightened of the couple.

'We've really done it this time,' James grinned.

As they were enjoying their dessert, the conversation turned to Sirius.

'You know, I'm kind of worried about him,' said Lily, playing with her spoon. 'Why doesn't he find someone? You know, a girl.'

'Are you insinuating that he shouldn't swing the other way?' James asked seriously, although Lily knew he was joking.

'No! He can if he wants – but – I mean –'

James cut in, laughing. 'I know what you mean. But we all know what Sirius is like. He's too much of a rebel to bother with girls.'

'Are you saying that girls are too much to bother with?' said Lily, her eyes narrowing.

'No,' said James, 'that's only the case with Padfoot.'

'But to say that of one girl,' said Lily quietly, 'is to say that about all girls. Am I too much work for you?'

James laughed again. Big mistake.

'Don't laugh!' said Lily for the second time that night. 'James …! _Fine_,' she said, waving her hands in an I-surrender sort of way.

Unfortunately, she hit a waiter who was passing by with drinks. The drinks toppled over on Lily and James's waiter, who had their bill.

'Actually,' said the waiter, sounding highly exhausted and on the verge of tears, 'forget. You two. You don't have to pay. Please just leave without causing any more trouble!'

'Don't you want to discuss this with –' Lily began.

'PLEASE LEAVE!' the waiter cried in despair.

James grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her out as quickly as he could; as they were leaving, he left a fifty pound note on an empty table, saying, 'Thank you!'

When they were out of the restaurant, they were doubled up with laughter, they even had tears in their eyes.

'That was a disaster,' Lily cried, still laughing. 'A complete fiasco! Only with you, James Potter, could that have happened. I don't think we'll be allowed back there again.'

'Doesn't matter,' said James, easing up and drying his eyes. 'We've still got each other, right?'

'Ah, yeah,' Lily said, sniffing as the last tears rolled down her cheek. 'Where to now, though? I don't fancy going back home yet.' She leaned against James's arm snugly as he started walked.

'I don't know,' he replied, 'I didn't plan all of this … I know what about the fields near Godric's Hollow? It's peaceful over there.'

'Anywhere,' Lily whispered happily.

James Apparated the two back to where they had once had a picnic. Here was perfect. They were only in the company of millions of stars and the crescent moon, along with some candles James had just conjured.

He laid down on the grass and Lily joined him. They were huddled together looking up at all of the constellations.

'James?' said Lily. 'If you were a superhero, what superpower would you want to have?'

Lily heard James's deep chuckle.

'The ability to see through clothes – no, I'm just kidding,' he added when Lily gasped. 'There's no need to fly when you have a broomstick … no need to read minds when you can learn Legilimency … probably super strength.'

'That's boring,' Lily scoffed.

'I would be an extra macho man without needing to work out – that's pretty awesome,' he said defensively.

'That's lazy,' Lily laughed.

'Fine – what superpower would _you_ want?'

Lily thought about it for a long while. 'I would probably want to … be a shape-shifter. Kind of like a Metamorphmagus, but more so.'

'You can use magic for that,' said James.

'Not to turn into an object, you can't,' said Lily.

'What object would you want to turn into?' he said cheekily.

Lily slapped his arm.

'I wish I could be a genie,' said Lily. 'A genie's a character of make-believe. They often come from lamps which must be rubbed three times. Genies grant the person who set them free three wishes.'

'Wouldn't you want to be the wish-maker?' James asked, sounding confused.

'No,' said Lily lightly, 'I prefer making people smile.'

James kissed her head. 'You do a great job.'

'Thanks,' she replied. 'As do you. I can't imagine running to anyone else when I'm in need of a laugh. I can't imagine being with anyone else, full stop.'

'R – really?' James stammered, sitting up.

'Yeah,' said Lily, sounding surprised and sitting up herself. 'What's up with the surprised tone?'

'I – I just thought I was alone in feeling that,' he replied, taking her hand.

'Hardly,' said Lily. 'I don't know why, but I can't picture living my life with another man, or even alone. I've always thought you'd be with me until, well, the day I die.'

'I will,' said James sincerely. 'There's no way I'll ever not be by your side. I'll die before I let anything happen to you. Actually, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.'

'Yes?' Lily felt her heart race, but told herself not to get her hopes high. She watched nervously as James slipped a hand into his pocket and took out a small, black velvet box.

'Lily Evans …' For some reason, her name from his lips gave her butterflies – or was it the way his hazel eyes burned into hers? 'I can't – and don't want to – live the rest of my life without you. I don't ever want to give my heart away to some other girl. I want you to be with me in every step of my life, and I want to be with you through thick and thin, good times and bad. Lil, it scares me how I love you; I love you more than life itself. It scares me the ways I've changed since we've gotten together – I've never changed for anyone before. But I love it, all of it. I love _you_. Will you marry me?'

The last four words did it. Moments later, Lily felt tears spill out of her eyes, and impatiently rubbed them away as James opened the box to reveal a silver and diamond-encrusted ring. It was beautiful, but that wasn't why Lily loved it so much; she could tell it was James's choice and it meant more to her than any material object in the world.

'Yes,' she whispered. 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, _yes_. I honestly can't think of another man I would want to marry, another man I want to go forth in life with. James, I love you. And I can't thank you enough for all you've ever done for me. You welcomed me into your family of friends and actually made me feel like I belong. You know how to love, how to appreciate – you're all I've ever wanted in a man: selfless, giving, loving, caring … you're _real_.'

James delicately took Lily's left hand and slid the ring onto the finger next to her little one. It fitted perfectly and looked pretty, sparkling there. Lily put her arms around James's neck and kissed him. She thought she felt tears trickle down her face that weren't hers, but then assumed she imagined it, as, when they broke apart, she saw his eyes were dry.

James held onto her tightly. 'See. No war can get in between us. I promise, it won't break us apart.' He kissed her forehead.

Eventually, they went to James's place where Mrs Potter, Peter, Remus and Sirius were lounging around. They appeared to be waiting for them.

Peter squeaked and Sirius yelped upon looking at the ring resting on Lily's hand. Mrs Potter hurried to their side, hugging them both and kissing James on the cheek.

'Mum,' said James, although he looked quite happy.

'I'm so pleased!' she said in a high-pitched voice. 'Your father would be so proud of you, James, so, so proud!'

Meanwhile, Remus hugged Lily tightly and whispered, 'Just look how happy you made him,' in her ear. Sirius pushed him aside for a hug from his "favourite flower". He quickly kissed her forehead and hugged her again, not even giving Peter a chance.

'That's enough,' James grinned, 'I'm pretty sure you're suffocating her, Padfoot. Release.'

Like a dog, Sirius obeyed.

Someone opened many bottles of Butterbeer and they spent the rest of the night drinking and chatting until Mrs Potter decided it was quite late and they should all head back to their own homes.

James Apparated to Lily's with her, just to see her off safely, before going back home and getting into bed himself. But he couldn't sleep, he was too excited. He laid in bed for many hours just thinking, thinking about the life he and Lily would have together.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the bad structuring of this chapter. I wrote lots of little things and tried mushing them all together.**

_Tuesday 10__th__ October 1978_


End file.
